Welsh names for constitunecies given warm welcome

Cymdeithas yr Iaith has welcomed the intention to give every constituencies a Welsh name only for the 2026 Senedd elections.

The Democracy and Boundary Commission has published the final determinations for constituency boundaries and names for the 2026 election.

Joseff Gnagbo, national chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith said:
"We are glad that every constituency for the 2026 Senedd elections will only have a Welsh name. Welsh is our unique national language, and naming constituencies across Wales in Welsh is a way of normalising Welsh, a language that belongs to every citizen in this country. It sets an important precedent for the names of constituencies in the future and for using Welsh-only names in other contexts as well."

The Democracy and Boundary Commission consulted twice on proposals, and Cymdeithas yr Iaith criticised the previous proposal to give constituencies bilingual names, such as the proposal for Merthyr Tudful, Aberdâr a Phontypridd – Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare and Pontypridd.

Joseff Gnagbo added:
"This shows the importance of campaigning. Thanks to pressure from campaigners, every constituency will now have one Welsh name, and the Democracy and Boundaries Commission’s procedures have been changed so that Welsh names will be drawn up for each constituency in the first place, before consideration is given as to whether an English name is needed as well. We call on the Senedd to follow this example by giving itself one official Welsh name too.
"The 2026 election opens a new chapter in the history of devolution with a larger Senedd. We know that the use of Welsh in the Senedd is quite low at the moment, and we will be campaigning over the next period to ensure an increased status and more use of the Welsh language in the Siambr and beyond when the new Senedd is elected."